Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers blasted fifties in quick time as Royal Challengers Bangalore survived a scare from Andre Russell to win against Kolkata Knight Riders and register a hat-trick in IPL 2021.
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When AB de Villiers and Glenn Maxwell bat together, fireworks are certain. Kolkata Knight Riders faced the brunt of the assault from ‘The Big Show’ and ‘Mr.360’. Maxwell hit a 28-ball fifty. De Villiers responded with a 27-ball fifty. 70 runs came in the final five overs. Their fifties ensured Royal Challengers Bangalore made it three out of three in IPL 2021. Virat Kohli’s team registered a 38-run win at the MA Chidambaram stadium on Sunday.
The late-overs onslaught had propelled Royal Challengers Bangalore past 200. Kolkata Knight Riders had the right approach, with Shubman Gill hitting two sixes off Kyle Jamieson in the second over. However, the Kiwi bowler had his revenge. The assault by Gill laid a good base for Kolkata Knight Riders in the powerplay. But, when Chahal sent back both Nitish Rana and Dinesh Karthik, it was too much to handle.
Russell tried a de Villiers by smoking three fours and a six off Chahal in the 17th over. Kolkata Knight Riders stayed in the hunt with Russell and Pat Cummins hitting a six each off Jamieson. But, the bowler responded with the wickets of Shakib and Pat Cummins. With 44 runs needed off 12 balls, Kolkata Knight Riders had a small chance. However, when Mohammed Siraj nailed four wide yorkers and gave away just one run in the 19th over, the game was up.
The damage for Kolkata Knight Riders was done by Maxwell and de Villiers and the partnership they built after the cheap dismissals of Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar.
The assault from Maxwell and de Villiers was commendable considering that Royal Challengers Bangalore were 9/2, with Virat Kohli out cheaply for 5 in the second over bowled by Varun Chakravarthy.
Maxwell shared a partnership of 86 off 55 balls with Devdutt Padikkal who played the sheet anchor role perfectly. However, it was his blazing partnership 53-run partnership of 29 balls that set the tone for the big score. The South African notched up his fifty with an inside out six over deep extra cover.
De Villiers then launched into Russell as he hit two fours and a six in the 18th over. In the final over, de Villiers showed his class by whacking three fours and a six off Russell as he leaked 38 runs in two overs. The last five overs yielded 70 runs for Royal Challengers Bangalore. In the end, the death overs assault, especially the 21 runs in the final over bowled by Russell proved to be the clincher for Royal Challengers Bangalore.
